DJ-rapper-producer Kero One joins this episode to break down the past, present and future of lo-fi hip-hop—from the perspective of an artist who has been making music for almost two decades, but became associated with the "lo-fi" scene only recently after the genre's solidification in the mainstream. We dive into the deep ties among lo-fi hip-hop, jazz and Asian culture, the positioning of lo-fi as an alternative to trap, the role of technology in evolving who gets to participate in the lo-fi resurgence and the reasons why Kero hates the term "study beats." Towards the end, we share our thoughts on Lil Nas X and the infiltration of K-pop groups like BLACKPINK and BTS into traditional U.S. media.

[17:32] Passion of the Weiss' interview with Bas van Leeuwen, founder of record label Chillhop Music, in which he states that "we don’t want the music to be seen as a throwaway or interchangeable product. We want people to recognize individual tracks":https://www.passionweiss.com/2019/01/16/lo-fi-hip-hop-chillhop/

[26:06] DJ Mark Farina has been commercially releasing a series of downtempo/chill hip-hop compilations called Mushroom Jazz since 1996. Here's a link to the second compilation in full on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6k0FlHGrZE